South Korean Court Dismisses iPhone Users' $1.6 Million 'Batterygate' Lawsuit

[MacRumors]

A South Korean court on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit seeking compensation from Apple over allegations the company deliberately slowed down the performance of older iPhones in order to compel customers to buy new models (via The Korea Herald).

"The lawsuit is dismissed," a court judge briefly said, without elaborating as to the reason for the ruling, denying the case brought by some 9,800 Korean smartphone buyers who were seeking 2 billion won ($1.64 million) against Apple.

The ruling comes five years after a group of consumers filed a civil lawsuit demanding damages of 200,000 won ($163) each. Initially brought by some 64,000 plaintiffs, the lawsuit claimed that Apple had induced some iPhone users to install a software upgrade that caused a performance slowdown so that users would consider replacing their devices with new ones.

The case relates to Apple's introduction in early 2017 of power management features for older iPhones to prevent unexpected shutdowns during times of peak power draw on devices with degraded batteries. These power management features throttle the processor on older iPhones with less than optimal batteries, resulting in slower performance.

The power management features were not widely publicized until late 2017, leading many customers to feel deceived by Apple.

Apple denied that it misled users, but later admitted that it slowed down some older iPhones with degraded batteries during times of peak power usage in order to prevent unexpected shutdowns. The company subsequently accepted that it should have provided a clearer explanation when it introduced the power management feature in iOS 10.2.1.

Following an apology, Apple implemented a battery replacement program that allowed all customers with an iPhone 6, 6s, 7, 6 Plus, 6s Plus, 7 Plus, and SE to replace their batteries for a reduced fee through the end of 2018.

Apple also introduced better battery monitoring features in a later iOS update, including the ability for customers to turn off the power management feature it introduced in iOS 10.2.1.

The Korean ruling stands in contrast with similar lawsuits brought against Apple in other countries. Apple in 2020 agreed to pay up to $500 million to settle a long-running class action lawsuit in the United States that accused the company of "secretly throttling" older ‌‌iPhone‌‌ models. Apple faced similar lawsuits in Belgium, Chile, Spain, Italy, and Portugal.

Article Link: South Korean Court Dismisses iPhone Users' $1.6 Million 'Batterygate' Lawsuit

 

[FelixDerKater]

Case dismissed. Reboot the lawyers and wait for the next one.

 

[Realityck]

Apple denied that it misled users, but later admitted that it slowed down some older iPhones with degraded batteries during times of peak power usage in order to prevent unexpected shutdowns. The company subsequently accepted that it should have provided a clearer explanation when it introduced the power management feature in iOS 10.2.1.

Following an apology, Apple implemented a battery replacement program that allowed all customers with an iPhone 6, 6s, 7, 6 Plus, 6s Plus, 7 Plus, and SE to replace their batteries for a reduced fee through the end of 2018.

Apple also introduced better battery monitoring features in a later iOS update, including the ability for customers to turn off the power management feature it introduced in iOS 10.2.1.

Glad we had a apology and some steps taken to mitigate issues consumers encountered back then. 5 years later that was a long delay in its decision.

 

[sam_dean]

Example of companies with piss poor communication skill.

It could have been resolved by providing a new feature that appears when the battery goes south.

This feature is a battery consumption toggle that allows you a choice of longer battery life or performance.

When this toggle appears it informs user that battery is less than fresh and will impact battery life on a full charge.

It will also provide instructions on how to resolve it like a paid battery replacement. It may also show

- how many full charge and full discharge cycles it has had since it was 1st activated
- number of days since 1st activation

 

[Skyscraperfan]

I hope sooner or later the EU will force smartphone companies to make batteries removable. Water resistance was just a bad excuse.

 

[4odomi]

A South Korean court on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit seeking compensation from Apple over allegations the company deliberately slowed down the performance of older iPhones in order to compel customers to buy new models (via The Korea Herald).

"The lawsuit is dismissed," a court judge briefly said, without elaborating as to the reason for the ruling, denying the case brought by some 9,800 Korean smartphone buyers who were seeking 2 billion won ($1.64 million) against Apple.

The ruling comes five years after a group of consumers filed a civil lawsuit demanding damages of 200,000 won each. Initially brought by some 64,000 plaintiffs, the lawsuit claimed that Apple had induced some iPhone users to install a software upgrade that caused a performance slowdown so that users would consider replacing their devices with new ones.

The case relates to Apple's introduction in early 2017 of power management features for older iPhones to prevent unexpected shutdowns during times of peak power draw on devices with degraded batteries. These power management features throttle the processor on older iPhones with less than optimal batteries, resulting in slower performance.

The power management features were not widely publicized until late 2017, leading many customers to feel deceived by Apple.

Apple denied that it misled users, but later admitted that it slowed down some older iPhones with degraded batteries during times of peak power usage in order to prevent unexpected shutdowns. The company subsequently accepted that it should have provided a clearer explanation when it introduced the power management feature in iOS 10.2.1.

Following an apology, Apple implemented a battery replacement program that allowed all customers with an iPhone 6, 6s, 7, 6 Plus, 6s Plus, 7 Plus, and SE to replace their batteries for a reduced fee through the end of 2018.

Apple also introduced better battery monitoring features in a later iOS update, including the ability for customers to turn off the power management feature it introduced in iOS 10.2.1.

The Korean ruling stands in contrast with similar lawsuits brought against Apple in other countries. Apple in 2020 agreed to pay up to $500 million to settle a long-running class action lawsuit in the United States that accused the company of "secretly throttling" older ‌‌iPhone‌‌ models. Apple faced similar lawsuits in Belgium, Chile, Spain, Italy, and Portugal.

Article Link: South Korean Court Dismisses iPhone Users' $1.6 Million 'Batterygate' Lawsuit

IMO it's much a do about nothing, I wouldn't expect my phone to work as well with a degraded battery, the only thing Apple did wrong is not be up front about it and inform their customers

 

[Fraserh02]

I hope sooner or later the EU will force smartphone companies to make batteries removable. Water resistance was just a bad excuse.

No thanks! Water resistance is fine

 

[Skyscraperfan]

No thanks! Water resistance is fine

A removable battery does not need to make the phone less water resistant. The Insta360 cameras have removable batteries and they even work under water.

 

[applepotato666]

I hope sooner or later the EU will force smartphone companies to make batteries removable. Water resistance was just a bad excuse.

It’s really not hard to replace an iPhone battery, I’ve done it many times with no particular skill by just watching an ifixit video. Water resistance is much preferred. But the EU should do something about the part locking and nagging Settings notifications and even disabled features because of parts being ‘not genuine’ when they are in fact genuine but weren’t replaced at an authorized location and software locked to the device. That’s the real problem.

 

[JonathanParker]

IIRC Apple only slowed down certain iPhone models with a significantly degraded battery when the percentage was low.

The phones that Apple “slowed down” suffered from spontaneous shutdowns because the batteries couldn’t supply enough power to the phone at full performance. Either apple had to slow them down, or they would just shut down randomly.

Apple just needed better communication

 

[nelloismello]

IIRC Apple only slowed down certain iPhone models with a significantly degraded battery when the percentage was low.

The phones Apple “slowed down” suffered from spontaneous shutdowns because the batteries couldn’t supply enough power to the phone. Either apple had to slow them down, or they would just shut down randomly.

Apple just needed better communication

Exactly. Apple definitely had good intentions, but it backfired on unknowing consumers who perceived this as planned obsolescence.

If only Apple stated it publicly or even in small fine print on their website, then this wouldn't have been a big deal.

 

[alpi123]

I hope sooner or later the EU will force smartphone companies to make batteries removable. Water resistance was just a bad excuse.

The durability tanks if they make the backs easily open... not to mention this also interferes with design and material decisions.

You'd rather have a plastic phone but a removable battery, than a premium feeling phone and still easily swappable battery, got it.

 

[nicolas_s]

I hope sooner or later the EU will force smartphone companies to make batteries removable. Water resistance was just a bad excuse.

No thanks, I prefer water resistance.

 

[jimmy_uk]

The durability tanks if they make the backs easily open... not to mention this also interferes with design and material decisions.

You'd rather have a plastic phone but a removable battery, than a premium feeling phone and still easily swappable battery, got it.

I'd take a high-grade plastic back over fragile glass any day of the week.

 

[Danfango]

I hope sooner or later the EU will force smartphone companies to make batteries removable. Water resistance was just a bad excuse.

This is silly

It’s not worth making it user removable for something that gets changed every two years.

 

[Danfango]

I'd take a high-grade plastic back over fragile glass any day of the week.

That I can agree with. I was a Nokia Lumia user for a number of years and on more than one occasion, due to the terrible software, I threw the infernal thing and they just bounced.

 

[Pezimak]

Surprised by this, also suspicious as no reason was provided for the ruling…

Apple should be allowed to be sued for what they did, let’s recap, they deliberately slowed your phone down if the battery was failing, WITHOUT telling you.
You then took your phone to an Apple Store to tell them it’s slow, they then used their own in store diagnostics software which stated their was NO issue with the battery, your phone is old buy a new one. And they would refuse to change your battery as the software stated no fault found.

And everyone let Apple off as ’mis-communication’.. it was anything but.
And as I remember it if they weren’t caught with what they were doing, by a random tech blogger if I recall who posted hard evidence, then they would never have admitted it. They got off very lightly for that action.

But luckily they did get caught. And we moved on. With several governments warning them at the very least. So hopefully they won’t have any further ‘mis-communication’.

 

[MajorFubar]

This is silly

It’s not worth making it user removable for something that gets changed every two years.

Said no one ever in 2003. We expected that consumable parts should be easy to change by the end user, and having done so, we did not expect our device to restrict our usage or lock us out of certain functionalities because we didn't buy the official battery or have it changed for an eye-watering premium at a certain service centre.

The 20 years (probably less) where all this has become acceptable, is what's wrong. You (along with many others) have been brainwashed into accepting - and even justifying - what would once have been considered to be a fundamental exploitation of consumer rights.

 

[OnawaAfrica]

the speed was only reduced when the battery was not able to provide enough power anymore for full speed.
swap the battery its that simple.
i guess people rather have thair phones randomly crashing then keeping their data from corrupting.
but then they would also sue apple cause they think apple makes their phones crash so that u buy a new phone

 

[Danfango]

Said no one ever in 2003. We expected that consumable parts should be easy to change by the end user, and having done so, we did not expect our device to restrict our usage or lock us out of certain functionalities because we didn't buy the official battery or have it changed for an eye-watering premium at a certain service centre.

The 20 years (probably less) where all this has become acceptable, is what's wrong. You've been brainwashed. There is literally zero reason why your iPhone could not be designed with easily-replaceable consumable parts while still offering the same user experience, including water resistance.

I've not been brainwashed. The trade-off is wrong. The trifecta here is:

• Manufacturing cost (impacted negatively by replaceable battery)
• Durability (impacted negatively by replaceable battery)
• Battery lifespan (impacted positively by replaceable battery)

In 2003, battery lifespan was a serious issue. Getting a year out of a battery was a good bet. That trumped durability and manufacturing cost. Not only that the capacity of batteries was lower and device power consumption was much higher so occasionally people did have to switch batteries.

In 2023, we're on two years easily for a battery lifespan, capacity has increased massively and power consumption is about the same or worse. We don't need to swap them out other than when the lifespan is out. That means we can reduce manufacturing cost and increase durability (less parts moving and less exposed connectors and mating surfaces does increase durability).

What I really really find objectionable is people whinging and moaning that it costs money to replace a battery. It's not even an unreasonable amount of money for the parts and labour included. And it's not hard to replace it.

The same people whinging will pay 5x the cost to get someone else to replace a car starter battery every 2-3 years YET APPLE BAD (also every other phone vendor)

 

[entropys]

I use the power management feature all the time.

 

[Wildkraut]

Case dismissed. Reboot the lawyers and wait for the next one.

The next one the way... 😆

https://ntia.gov/report/2023/competition-mobile-app-ecosystem

 

[Pezimak]

the speed was only reduced when the battery was not able to provide enough power anymore for full speed.
swap the battery its that simple.
i guess people rather have thair phones randomly crashing then keeping their data from corrupting.
but then they would also sue apple cause they think apple makes their phones crash so that u buy a new phone

Except people took their iPhones to the Apple store to have the Genius technician plug it into Apples own diagnostics software, for it to state their was absolutely nothing wrong with the battery, and the up selling to a new phone started. And I don’t think you could easily request them to change the battery either. And if you went third party you lost functions and features.

Your comment is relevant now, but back in the time frame Apple we’re caught and the previous year or two I think to that, your argument would have been to total opposite of the reality in place by Apple.

 

[Little Endian]

Batteries wear out regardless of phone manufacturer or application. Apple initially lacked transparency when dealing with the battery wear issue. This has largely been resolved with software updates, adding better power management and more transparency about battery health.

Battery degradation is not linear and at some point in time wether it be between 500-2000 charge cycles performance will start to drop drastically. At that point do you design the phone to just brick itself? Have random shutdowns even though battery gauge says you theoretically have 10-30% charge? Or throttle to prevent random shutdowns and still be usable? Apple chose the later but their mistake was not being transparent about it. This made them look like they were purposely doing this to make performance bad so people would be forced to upgrade sooner. If they did not throttle performance they still would have gotten criticism for random shutdowns and in the end for phones that get unexpectedly bricked at inopportune times. Just imagine your phone going dead unexpectedly when you needed it most or before you got to back it up.

They fixed it by being more transparent by letting users know that your battery is near end of life and gave them options. So you inform the user that your battery is getting closer to death. Your options are replace the battery, deal with shortened battery life or get a new phone.

At this point in time what I want from Apple is for them to keep battery replacement costs low and extend AppleCare for iPhone to 3 years like AppleCare for computers. While we are at it might as well extend AppleCare for computers to 4 or better yet 5 years.

We spend a fortune on Apple products and AppleCare. Apple also likes to boast about environmental causes by reducing waste. How about they put their money where their mouth is by discouraging people from having to upgrade unnecessarily and making greater effort to support right to repair.

The progress of technology has slowed. There really is no need to get a new phone or computer every 2-3 years. Most folks would do just fine keeping a phone for
3-4+ years and a computer for 5-8+ years.

Apple can still make boatloads of money if people keep their devices a little longer. They got the AppStore and services. They got overpriced accessories and they can keep coming up with other gizmos along the way to sell us in between phone and computer upgrades.

 

[jjwwqq]

It’d be wonderful if journalists stopped adding “gate” to every scandal that pops up.